Why Gifts Matter: Scholarship Support Lets Kimberly Sutton Become Motivational Force for Students

After nearly a decade as an Exceptional Children’s Program teacher in Lenoir and Wayne counties, Kimberly Sutton decided to become a school counselor in order to better understand her students’ behavior and make a greater impact on their lives.

That’s what led her to the NC State College of Education’s online Master of Education in School Counseling program, where Sutton has been able to learn from the “best professors I’ve ever had in my life” and complete her practicum and internship at Goldsboro High School.

“I’m hoping to stay here for a while, if I can, and continue to change lives and continue to be the light that I can be in Goldsboro High,” Sutton said. “I love going to work every day.”

Sutton credits her faculty with teaching her how to be an effective school counselor while also providing support when she has needed it, checking in on her when she was recuperating from back surgery and also nominating her for the Cassandra Lee Versteeg Mitchell Memorial Scholarship

“I was able to take that money and put it toward tuition and renting books, so I was super thankful,” Sutton said. “I am truly grateful that I was awarded this scholarship. It was an unexpected yet welcomed surprise. I thank [Assistant Professor] Rolanda Mitchell for nominating me for this honor, and I thank the donors for making it possible.”

Earning her master’s degree in school counseling, Sutton said, will allow her to become a motivational force at Goldsboro High School. She grew up in nearby Kinston, and knows the domino effect education can have. Two of her children are undergraduate students and the third is a college graduate, as is Sutton’s mother, who went back to school to earn her bachelor’s degree. Her goal is to instill that same love for learning in her students. 

“Hopefully, I can inspire the youth to graduate and go into higher education if they want to,” Sutton said. “I’m just hoping I can just inspire folks to stay in school and to finish and to follow their dreams.”